The council room was filled with muted interactions and pointed inquiries.
Mia had brought the new Unified Council up to speed on what she, Lucas, and the others experienced in the Ferrowind den by this point. Most had never heard of hybrids beyond old legends.
Others refused to believe such wolves ever existed.
"They're unstable," Elder Vance said quietly. "Half-blooded monstrosities, born from shattered covenants and forbidden rites and rituals. They were designed to fade away."
"Then they didn't get the message," Cade bit out. Cade snapped.
Mia had been leaning over her arms resting on the table, having completely given up any pretense of civility. "They're not just alive," she pointed out, her voice rising over all the commotion. "They're mobilized. And they've been actively observing us for years now…"
The room quieted down, all eyes on her.
The room fell silent.
"Coren thinks that dominance arises from destruction," Cope stated as fact. "There's no place for diplomacy or peace in his envisioned future."
His vision of a future has no room for diplomacy or peace."
"Ember is right. He extended an invitation to her." "Join or fall."
Elder Garran frowned vehemently. "And why should we be inclined to offer an attack?"
"And do you believe he'll attack?"
Mia didn't blink. "Yes. Not now. But soon."
"He doesn't intend to stop at just claiming territory," Lucas warned," she is the target."
"He won't just come for land," Lucas said. "He'll come for what she represents."
The weight of the room shifted.
Everyone felt the power dynamics within this space change.
Mia observed the area around her. "That's not Viktor's move. We can't sit and wait to respond. We have to be in a state of alertness."
There was no argument from the council.
Each wolf in that room knew deep down that something was coming.
____________________________________
Mia encountered Renna waiting at the training grounds after the meeting.
"Are you okay?" asked the younger omega, who was nervously playing with the strap of her tunic.
"Honestly, no," said Mia. "But at least I'm ready."
Renna looked up and hesitated. "Do you think… the defense circle is ready too?"
Mia put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen. We are not training to achieve perfection. We are training to be ready. And you—you-every single one of you---- you've accomplished that you've already done that."
Renna nodded, eyes wide with a flicker of pride.
And then ripples shook the very soil beneath them. A tremor rolled through the ground.
Discrete, but clear.
Subtle. But unmistakable.
Mia was taken aback.
She went down on one knee and put her hand on the ground.
"Mia, sorry but—" Renna said in an astonished tone.
"Another one," Mia interrupted.
Wolves in the training yard began to freeze in place. Eyeballs lifted and scanned the treetops.
A howl came.
Another tremor. Stronger.
From the North.
Pale and distant. And wrong.
"Ember ran from the lodge. Scouts report movement on the edge of Ferrowind territory. Nothing aggressive. Just… surrounding.'
Cade cursed. 'It's a test. They're watching how fast we respond.'
Lucas arrived next, his voice already in command mode. "Assume rapid response. Mia, you're with me."
"No," she answered.
He blinked, stunned.
"I'll take half the east ridge. You go north with Cade. If they're flanking, we need to be in two places at once."
Lucas hesitated, then nodded. "Be careful."
"You too."
_________________________________________________________________
Mia stood at the ridge with the wind sweeping through her braid hours later. The setting sun narrowed her eyes.
The Ferrowind weren't just monsters hiding in caves.
They were strategists.
Calculators.
Movers of pieces on a board, the rest of the world hadn't realized existed.
She could feel it in the way the forest held its breath.
Suddenly, Renna beside her went stiff. "Mia."
Mia turned and saw them.
Figures. At least six. Cloaked in shadow.
Not moving.
Just standing at the tree line as ghosts.
Mia drew her blades, not in fear, but in defence."
"We see you," she called.
The figures still held silent.
But one raised a hand—and dropped something on the ground.
Then they vanished.
Mia strode forward cautiously, picked up the object. It was a scrap of leather.
Carved with the mark of the Unified Council.
Burned.
A message.
A warning.
Or both.
Mia stood tall, heart hammering, wolf burning inside her chest.
"You've delivered yours," she whispered.
"Now I'll deliver mine."